US stocks: S&P 500 ends at record high for 5th day, Dow at record high 2nd day

NEW YORK: The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high for a fifth day
on Wednesday in a broad rally that keeps surprising investors with its
longevity and resilience.
The Dow also ended at a record high for a second straight day, pushing further above 15,000.
Financials, materials and technology sectors were among the strongest performers, with shares of International Business Machines leading the Dow higher. IBM's stock rose 1.1 percent to $204.82.
Among the S&P 500's biggest percentage gainers was Whole Foods Market Inc ,
whose shares jumped 10.1 percent to $102.19 a day after it reported a
rebound in same-store sales and raised its full-year profit view.
Apple shares finished the day up 1.1 percent at $463.84 after falling in the previous session.
While
volume has been below average all week, the three major U.S. stock
indexes have ended sessions higher than where they began, suggesting
momentum will continue.
Solid corporate earnings along with
continued accommodative monetary policies have supported the market's
climb, which had been led by mostly defensive sectors. The recent
rally, though, appears to reflect a shift to growth-oriented sectors
leading the advance.
"Cyclicals will probably be fairly strong
in the short term, based on the strengthening parts of the economy,"
said Bryan Evans, investment advisor and portfolio manager at Cozad
Asset Management, in Champaign, Illinois.
The Dow Jones
industrial average <.DJI> gained 48.92 points, or 0.32 percent,
to end at a record high of 15,105.12 - its second consecutive close
above 15,000. The Standard & Poor's
500 Index <.SPX> rose 6.73 points, or 0.41 percent, to finish at
a record high of 1,632.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC>
advanced 16.64 points, or 0.49 percent, to close at 3,413.27.
After the bell, shares of Groupon jumped 11.5 percent to $6.23 after the world's largest daily deal company reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit.
Shares of New Corp
rose 3.6 percent to $33 in after-hours trading following the release of
the last quarterly results for Rupert Murdoch's company before its
entertainment and publishing businesses are separated.
During
the session, the Dow also reached an all-time intraday high of
15,106.81 and the S&P 500 set a record intraday high of 1,632.78.
The
S&P 500 has climbed 14.5 percent so far this year, while the Dow
has advanced 15.3 percent and the Nasdaq has gained 13 percent.
Despite
the gains, the market remains below overbought territory, with the
relative strength index on the S&P 500 slightly below 70.
Still,
the potential for the market to pause increases as the earnings
reporting period winds down, said Bruce Zaro, chief technical
strategist at Delta Global Asset Management in Boston.
"Now that earnings are over and done ... there's no real fundamental reason to buy stocks," he said.
Results
are in from about 440 companies so far. Earnings have largely been
better than expected this quarter, with the majority of companies
surpassing estimates.
Some of the day's biggest movers were
stocks cited by prominent investors at the Sohn Investment Conference,
a hedge fund industry event in New York.
Shares of TW Telecom Inc and Level 3 Communications rallied after fund manager Keith Meister, managing partner and chief investment officer of Corvex Management, said they could be on par with industry heavyweights AT&T and Verizon in coming years.
TW Telecom ended up 5.8 percent at $28.77 while shares of Level 3 ended up 3.4 percent at $23.99.
Shares
of some housing stocks rose after Steven Eisman, founder and portfolio
manager of hedge fund Emrys Partners, L.P., said during the conference
that he is positive on U.S. housing, but wary of Canada's housing
market.
Among his picks were Lennar , which edged up 0.1 percent to $42.25, and Forestar Group , which gained 5.9 percent to $24.08.
Volume
was roughly 6.2 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange,
the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, below the average daily closing volume of
about 6.4 billion this year.
Advancers outpaced decliners on the
NYSE by a ratio of nearly 2 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, seven stocks
rose for every five that fell. - Reuters